‘Look after yourselves, so we don’t have to’: Oman’s health minister

Muscat: Oman is leading the world in infectious diseases control but residents need to change their lifestyles to avoid issues like diabetes and cancer, according to the Health Minister.
The Minister of Health said that in the early seventies the main cause of death in Oman was infectious disease but thanks to hard work by the Sultanate, the rate of coverage in vaccinations reached 99 percent."

"Unfortunately, nowadays we suffer from non-communicable diseases in the Sultanate as a major cause of death such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer and respiratory diseases caused by the wrong lifestyle," He added.

"In the figures, annually 7000 patients are added to the number of diabetics, 1300 cancer patients, 400 patients need dialysis, and we are in a country where the average age is young people.

"But, thankfully, the World Health Organisation reports significant progress in the Sultanate to reduce non-communicable diseases, so I am asking families, schools, institutions, if we modify our lifestyle we could prevent 40 percent of these diseases."

"We are happy to look after you to come to our hospital, but it is better for you to become more concerned to prevent these diseases," Dr.Ahmed Mohammed Al Saidi The minister of Health Ministry, said.

The Ministry of Health seeks to provide adequate health services for citizens and workers in the health sector.

Oman’s rate of coverage in vaccinations reached 99 percent.

Since 2010, the Ministry of Health has implemented agreements to build 55 new hospitals, 330 expansion agreements, 626 maintenance tenders and 419 agreements for the purchase of medical equipment at a total cost of OMR133 million.
"The ministry considers the distribution of hospitals and health projects a number of criteria including density, geography and social dimensions, in addition to a number of technical standards such as low operating costs, environment friendly, and accessibility between the departments within the hospital," the Minister added.

Today and yesterday, The Ministry of Health has signed a number of agreements worth OMR312 million, including three agreements for the construction of new hospitals in Salalah, Khasab and Suwaiq, which are planned to be completed in two to four years, in addition to signing expansion agreements for Sohar, Nizwa and Muscat Royal Hospital.

During the previous years, the Sultanate achieved a number of figures in the health sector, in 2000 Oman was the first country in the efficiency of health sector, in 2008 Sultanate achieved the eighth place in the level of primary health care.
In 2016, the Sultanate ranked first in the world in the field of vaccination management between 195 health institutions around the world , also the Sultanate was elected to chair the General Assembly of the World Health Organization in recognition of the Sultanate's status in the health sector and In 2017, four hospitals were accredited in the Sultanate as a patient friend.